Cochrane

Review question What is the evidence about the potential clinical benefits and harms of providing cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk scores in people without a history of heart disease or stroke? Background Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a group of conditions that includes heart disease and stroke. CVD prevention guidelines emphasise the use ...

Background Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a condition in which a blood clot forms in the deep veins of the leg or pelvis (DVT) or the clot travels in the blood and blocks a blood vessel in the lungs (pulmonary embolism (PE)). The chances of getting a VTE can be increased if people have risk factors such as previous clots, prolonged periods of immobility ...

Review question We reviewed the evidence for the effects of music interventions on functional outcomes in adults with acquired brain injury. Background Acquired brain injury (brain damage through accident or illness, including stroke, that is unlikely to degenerate further) can cause problems with movement, language, sensation, thinking, or emotion. ...

Review question Which interventions help improve people's ability to take lipid-lowering medications more regularly? Background Lipid-lowering therapy has been shown to decrease the risk of both heart attacks and strokes. However, taking these medications as prescribed has not been as high as one would wish. In the past, several methods have been ...

Background Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a condition in which people develop blood clots in their veins. It includes deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and the potentially fatal pulmonary embolism (PE). VTE occurs in more than 10% of patients in hospital and is the third most frequent cause of death among them. Therefore, effective prevention is necessary ...

Background Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) are collectively known as venous thromboembolism (VTE), and occur when a blood clot develops inside the leg veins (DVT) and travels to the lungs (PE). They are possible complications of hospitalisation resulting from surgery or trauma. These complications extend hospital stay and are ...

Background Endovascular procedures require access to the inside of an artery. A small hole is made in the artery at the groin, and a catheter is guided along to the site of interest. Once the procedure is complete, the hole in the artery must be closed and the bleeding stopped (haemostasis). Traditionally, the main method of closing the artery is ...

Background Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is an important cause of death nowadays. People at high risk (mainly with any sort of heart disease) die unexpectedly from cardiac causes, primarily from arrhythmia (an irregular heartbeat). The treatment of choice is a device called an implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD), but it is not widely available in ...

Review question: We reviewed the evidence about the effect of any intervention that had been used to treat or prevent fatigue in people with stroke. Background: Fatigue is a common and distressing problem after stroke, but no intervention has been recommended to treat or prevent it in people with stroke. Thus, it is important to find out if any intervention ...

Hormone therapy is used for controlling menopausal symptoms. It has also been used for the prevention of cardiovascular disease in post-menopausal women. The present review assessed the effects of using hormone therapy for six months or more. Nineteen randomised controlled trials (involving 40,410 women) compared oral hormone therapy (oestrogen, with ...